Time for vacation today. I leave at 12 o’ clock to go down to my cousins house and sleep over there. But they don’t know, its a secret, don’t tell!! After that, I am off to Wildwood, New Jersey and the famous “boardwalk!” I will then be going to Rehobeth, Delaware so I won’t be home for 18 days. If I have access to a computer I will get back to everyone that commented. If not, then sorry I am on vaca! 🙂 See ya in 18

The newest member of the Orioles arrived too late to meet the media on Tuesday and almost too late to fill his belly. Cla Meredith, who was acquired from the Padres in exchange for Oscar Salazar on Sunday, flew cross-country to New York to meet his new team and arrived barely an hour before the scheduled 7:05 p.m. ET start time of the O’s game against the Yankees.

Meredith’s cause was aided by a rain delay that pushed back the first pitch by roughly a half-hour, a brief respite that allowed the right-handed reliever to eat before heading out to the bullpen. The Orioles had a quick turnaround for Wednesday’s afternoon game, but Meredith still took the time to greet the media and share his thoughts on the trade.

“Any time you get traded, I guess you’re surprised,” Meredith said. “I took it a lot better than I took it when I got traded from the Red Sox a few years ago. I didn’t know what it meant to be traded. I took it as kind of a demotion, so to speak, but little did I know it would turn out to be one of the better things that ever happened to me, career-wise.”

Meredith, a middle reliever, grew up in Richmond, Va., and attended Virginia Commonwealth University. The right-hander said he’s always had a connection to the Orioles, a link that dates back to his earliest days in baseball. Meredith attended his first game just days after the infamous Jeffrey Maier game in the 1996 American League Division Series.

“That was my first Major League game, and I definitely always had a heart for the Orioles,” Meredith said Wednesday. “You know, when you get called into the office and you get told you’re going to get traded, there’s a moment [of trepidation]. But this is exciting. Even Kevin Towers, [the Padres’] GM, said, ‘You’re going to like this one.'”

And so it is that Meredith, who grew up listening to Jim Palmer call Orioles games on Home Team Sports, gets to suit up for the closest thing he has to a hometown team. Meredith said he doesn’t really know any of the guys in the clubhouse and that he pitched against currently disabled Baltimore reliever Chris Ray in college, but Meredith is a quick study who has watched the O’s from afar.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things — I’ve seen a lot of good things,” Meredith said. “I’m a baseball player and I pay attention to what’s going on around the league. Things are going in the right direction here and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Meredith, who began his career in the Red Sox organization, said that he’s looking forward to the challenge of playing in the American League East, perhaps the toughest division in baseball. The ground-ball specialist said he was thankful for his time in San Diego, but he’s ready, willing and able to start his career anew.

“It was a whirlwind to travel all day,” Meredith said of his transition. “I knew what to expect as far as playing here, but it was nice to come to the new ballpark. I’ve got a lot of new faces, and I’m trying to remember the names to go with them. That will come, and everybody here has been great to me so far. I’m really happy to be here.”

Now for my part of the story. The O’s have a bright future ahead with Brad Bergesen (6-4) and Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz who are down in the minors but having success. Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Nolan Reimold will man the outfield in years to come with Matt Wieters behind the plate. With Brian Roberts retirement on edge in about 8 years, the O’s will look for a young second basemen to take his spot.

What a great future ahead! I can’t wait for the O’s to become awesome! Tonight the O’s will be playing the Red Sox at Fenway at 7:05. The O’s will probably get a win tonight because Brad Bergesen (6-4) the O’s ace, is pitching! If Bergesen can mow through these Sox hitters, expect for the O’s to get the win tonight!

Yesterday night the O’s lost to the Yanks 6-4, with the Yanks first 4 runs all coming in the 1st inning off of Jason Berken, who has greatly struggled. We will call him the crapper! SO, the crapper, crapped it up again last night and got the loss against the Yanks. How about just releasing the Crapper we don’t want him! Who does? The Crapper has what, 8 losses now? And his ERA is over 7 and skyrocketing. Just get him out of here, the Crapper sucks, and keeps on sucking. The big one! Dang. He sucks bad. This is for you The Crapper.

BALTIMORE — No respite, no reprieve. The Orioles will come out of the All-Star break with a unique test tailored to their own profile. The club will play 23 games in 24 days after the intermission, an arduous stretch that will test its depth and its ability to play well away from Camden Yards.

The Orioles will begin the second half with a three-game series in Chicago that starts on Friday and, after that, they’ll head to road series in New York and Boston. Baltimore will then play host to Kansas City and Boston before making a two-city trip to Detroit and Toronto. And here’s why that’s so noteworthy: The Red Sox, Yankees and Tigers all stand as having among the best home records in the American League, and the Blue Jays have played far better at home than on the road this season.

They’re not alone: The Orioles showed a severe disparity in the first half, playing to a 26-21 record at home and a 14-27 mark on the road. And that disparity shows up in the statistics. Baltimore has a 5.96 ERA on the road — which stands as the worst in the AL — and a 4.16 mark at home. The Orioles also hit .237 and scored 167 runs on the road, marks that stand second-to-last in the league, contrasted with an AL-best .294 batting average in their own home park.

And if you look even closer, those splits affect nearly all of Baltimore’s regular starters. Brian Roberts and Adam Jones are the players that show the least radical swings in performance based on location, but the rest of the heart of the order isn’t as fortunate. Four players — Aubrey Huff (.295/.228), Melvin Mora (.310/.204), Nick Markakis (.328/.247) and Ty Wigginton (.281/.236) — show extreme splits that see them hitting more than 40 points better at home than on the road.

Luke Scott has been successful at both home and on the road, but he’s been far better at Camden Yards (.323/.419/.633) than he has been elsewhere (.288/.333/.538). The split even affects rookies Nolan Reimold and Matt Wieters, who are both hitting in the .230’s on the road and in the .280’s at home.

Put all of that together and you get a team with plenty to prove on the road in the second half, not to mention a great opportunity to start that upward mobility immediately. The Orioles, who went 5-5 in their past 10 games before the All-Star break, are just 13-19 against division rivals this season. They’ll get 12 more division games in this stretch alone, playing six times against Boston, three times against New York and three more against Toronto. Nine of the 12 will come on the road.

Baltimore, which has 41 road games and 34 home games left this season, has had a particularly tough time against Boston. The Orioles are just 1-6 against the Red Sox in 2009 and have been outscored 50-30 in the process, a showing that comes right on the heels of a 6-12 mark against Boston last season. Baltimore is also 3-6 against New York and 5-4 against Toronto, lending interesting perspective to its next few series against AL East opponents.

The Orioles, who played to a 9-13 record during the season’s first month, have shown a modest improvement as the year has progressed. Baltimore went 14-15 in May and 12-14 in June, feeding into a 5-6 record thus far throughout July. And despite winning more series than they’ve lost, the Orioles still have a losing record, thanks largely to road series sweeps in Boston, Florida, New York, Toronto and Oakland. By contrast, Baltimore has just two three-game series sweeps to its credit.

If Baltimore is going to make a run in the second half, it will have to find a way to get its starters deeper in the game. The Orioles have seen their starting pitchers work the least amount of innings in the league by a slim margin, and consequently, they’ve seen their bullpen work more innings than anyone else. The four-day break may be key to O’s pitching.

Baltimore will play six games right after the break — three against Chicago and three more against the Yankees — before getting an off-day. After that, the squad will plow through 20 games before its next day off on Aug. 20, a difficult stretch followed by 18 consecutive games before the rosters expand on Sept. 1. Interestingly, despite that challenging segment of the calendar, the team will have four days off in September alone.

The Orioles have seen their share of success in the first half, and they’ll undoubtedly have things to be proud of after the All-Star break. Now, though, their main attention has to be on avoiding the second-half swoons that have plagued them in recent seasons. Baltimore went 6-28 down the stretch last year, 11-28 in 2007, 10-20 in ’06 and 14-28 in ’05. The Orioles haven’t finished strong since ’04, a season in which they racked up their best record (78-84) since 1998.

“Stubbornness is usually considered a negative, but I think that trait has been a positive for me.”

This moment in baseball: Cal made one of his final stadium stops in Florida, on July 17th, before he ended up retiring.

The Baltimore Orioles, didn’t think they were going to win the East, or come in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. The O’s just want a season over .500. and it looks like they are going to get it. With a 40-48 record, the O’s are going into Chicago with a new mind set, they wanna get to .500. And now, the Orioles head into the second half hoping to consolidate their gains. They want to watch Wieters continue to develop and Bergesen and Nolan Reimold make a charge at the league’s Rookie of the Year award. And then, after the smoke has cleared, they’ll know where they stand heading into the 2010 season.

Club MVP: He’s their breakout player, and more to the point, Baltimore’s best all-around talent. Adam Jones has jumped out of his mold and converted much of his potential into actual production. The fleet-footed center fielder was named to his first All-Star team and will be a central factor in Baltimore for years to come.

Call him “Ace”: It may take longer than 15 starts to gain ace status, but Bergesen has been by far Baltimore’s most reliable starter in the first half. The right-handed rookie completed at least six innings in 11 of his first 15 outings and allowed three earned runs or fewer in two-thirds of his starts.

Greatest strength: The Orioles have seen their outfield — which boasts Jones and homegrown talents Nick Markakis and Reimold — evolve into perhaps the best young unit in baseball. The Orioles have speed and power from all three slots, and Markakis and Jones are both dynamic defenders in their own right.

Biggest problem: Baltimore’s veteran grafts to the starting rotation (Mark Hendrickson, Rich Hill and Adam Eaton) didn’t take root, forcing the Orioles to go to their younger prospects a bit earlier than expected. Jeremy Guthrie has also struggled, laying even more pressure on the young arms to thrive immediately.

Biggest surprise: If it’s not Bergesen, it would have to be Reimold or Robert Andino. Reimold burst out of the gates for Triple-A Norfolk and hasn’t stopped hitting since a promotion to the parent club. Andino, meanwhile, came over in a late spring trade from Florida and stabilized shortstop while Cesar Izturis was on the disabled list.

Team needs: The Orioles just need time and space to grow. They’ve already seen Reimold and Wieters introduced to the big league level, and next they’ll see high-wattage arms like Chris Tillman. By this point next season, the Orioles will likely have Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz in the big league mix as well.

He said it: “No one ever gives you credit when your fundamentals are good. … But as soon as you make a mistake fundamentally, it stands out like a sore thumb. People are ready to jump on you. My approach is to talk to the player individually and to stress to the team as a whole that baseball games are won and lost with your ability to be fundamentally sound.” — Baltimore manager Dave Trembley, on playing sound baseball

Mark your calendar: The Orioles are tested right out of the chute in the second half. Baltimore will have to travel to Chicago, New York and Boston for a nine-game road trip right after the All-Star break. The Orioles also have a 10-game jaunt in September before finishing the year with a three-game series at home against Toronto.

Fearless second-half prediction: The Orioles will avoid the unmitigated September swoons that have plagued them in recent years and will finish closer to .500 than they have in any season since 2004.

The Orioles will begin the second half with a three-game series in Chicago that starts on Friday and, after that, they’ll head to road series in New York and Boston. Baltimore will then play host to Kansas City and Boston before making a two-city trip to Detroit and Toronto. And here’s why that’s so noteworthy: The Red Sox, Yankees and Tigers all stand as having among the best home records in the American League, and the Blue Jays have played far better at home than on the road this season.

They’re not alone: The Orioles showed a severe disparity in the first half, playing to a 26-21 record at home and a 14-27 mark on the road. And that disparity shows up in the statistics. Baltimore has a 5.96 ERA on the road — which stands as the worst in the AL — and a 4.16 mark at home. The Orioles also hit .237 and scored 167 runs on the road, marks that stand second-to-last in the league, contrasted with an AL-best .294 batting average in their own home park.

And if you look even closer, those splits affect nearly all of Baltimore’s regular starters. Brian Roberts and Adam Jones are the players that show the least radical swings in performance based on location, but the rest of the heart of the order isn’t as fortunate. Four players — Aubrey Huff (.295/.228), Melvin Mora (.310/.204), Nick Markakis (.328/.247) and Ty Wigginton (.281/.236) — show extreme splits that see them hitting more than 40 points better at home than on the road.

Luke Scott has been successful at both home and on the road, but he’s been far better at Camden Yards (.323/.419/.633) than he has been elsewhere (.288/.333/.538). The split even affects rookies Nolan Reimold and Matt Wieters, who are both hitting in the .230’s on the road and in the .280’s at home.

Midseason Grades:

Starting Pitching: C+ (Now the only reason the pitching gets a C+ is because Brad Bergesen and Jeremy Guthrie have carried the load and have been the aces on the staff. Without them the O’s would have an F.)

Bullpen: D+ (George Sherrill has really helped out the bullpen with 20 saves, but guys like Matt Albers, just aren’t getting it done. The O’s need some fresh arms to bring up to the bullpen, and shall do that in the second half.)

Offense: B+ (The addition of Adam Jones in the lineup, and the continuous production of Luke Scott has really come in handy to one of the top 12 offenses in the majors. The O’s have used Jones as a weapon, to protect Brian Roberts, and to get on base for Nick Markakis, who is also having a great year. The Offense is streaky at times, but overall, they are just having another great season.)

Orioles: B (although the pitching has been bad, very bad, the offense still has carried the load at times, and the O’s are 40-48 which isn’t too shabby. The O’s can still turn the season around and get back to .500)

“I’d like to be remembered. I’d like to think that someday two guys will be talking in a bar and one of them will say something like, ‘Yeah, he’s a good shortstop, but he’s not as good as ole Ripken was.’ “

This moment in baseball: Cal was on his way to setting another record with 95 consecutive errorless games (April 14-July 27) and 431 consecutive errorless chances. Incredibly, Ripken would not win the Gold Glove that season; the award went to Ozzie Guillen and his 17 errors. Ripken would, however, win the award in 1991 and 1992.

It was an All-Star Game full of fresh faces until the very end. And that meant a very familiar result on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.

AL 4, NL 3The American League extended its unbeaten streak in the Midsummer Classic to 13 years with a 4-3 win over the National League in front of 46,860. The AL’s run without a loss is the longest unbeaten streak in All-Star history.

First-time All-Stars Adam Jones and Curtis Granderson teamed up to deliver the winning run for the Junior Circuit, which will have home-field advantage in this year’s World Series, but All-Star veterans Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Nathan and Mariano Rivera brought the game home in relief.

“That’s what we came here to do,” said Rivera, who set a record with the fourth All-Star save of his magnificent career. “We came here with a mission and our mission was accomplished.”

Jones’ sacrifice fly with one out in the top of the eighth inning scored Granderson, who had tripled, for the winning run. That made a winner of Red Sox closer Papelbon, who pitched a perfect seventh despite a couple of very loud outs. The NL led early and for much of the game, but it couldn’t bring home the victory in the late innings.

Thus in many ways, the game followed a very similar script to several recent All-Star Games — all the way down to the game-winner, as it was the second consecutive year the AL won on a sac fly. Throughout the AL’s unbeaten streak, the NL has threatened with many close calls, including four successive one-run losses. But in the end, the AL always comes up with the key hit, the big catch and especially the finishing pitch.

“I give them all the credit in the world,” said NL manager Charlie Manuel. “They played a tremendous game. They got big hits when they had to, and they held us at the end.”

The game turned drastically within a seven-batter stretch in the seventh and eighth innings.

Facing Papelbon, Brad Hawpe led off the bottom of the seventh with a high, deep drive to left field. All-Star Game MVP Carl Crawford tracked the ball all the way to the wall, timed his leap perfectly and reached over the wall to rob Hawpe of what would have been a tie-breaking homer. Miguel Tejada followed with a deep drive to right field, but his bid for a homer fell just short of the fence.

American way

The American League hasn’t lost an All-Star Game since 1996, a 6-0 National League victory at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The 13-game unbeaten streak is the longest for either side in All-Star history.

“It’s got to be the top play [of my career],” Crawford said. “I don’t think I’ve ever robbed a home run before, so I picked a good time to do it tonight. It’s definitely probably my best catch I’ve ever made.”

Papelbon struck out Jayson Werth to end the inning, keeping the game tied. After Padres closer Heath Bell got a grounder to open the eighth, Granderson smacked a one-out triple that Justin Upton couldn’t corral. Upton, playing left field for the first time, might have been able to play the ball better but it still would have been tough to gun down the speedy Granderson.

“I was waiting to see, did he catch it? … As soon as it started to kick away, then I go ahead and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to third,'” Granderson said.

After an intentional walk to Victor Martinez, Jones delivered the game-winner against Bell, who took the loss.

“It’s still surreal to me,” said Jones. “Right man at the right time. I’m glad the National League decided to walk Victor Martinez ahead of me.”

The end overshadowed what was an entertaining and competitive game throughout. Both starters had some difficulty, and then the bullpens locked down.

NL starter Tim Lincecum got into trouble quickly, allowing a leadoff single to Ichiro Suzuki and hitting Derek Jeter with a pitch. Lincecum nearly got out of it, though. Joe Mauer grounded into a force and Mark Teixeira hit a grounder to Albert Pujols, but Pujols booted the ball and a run scored. After Jason Bay’s soft single, Josh Hamilton grounded into a force play to bring home a second AL run.

Pujols made a couple of brilliant plays later in the game, but the Gold Glover’s error still proved costly.

“The ball was hit in between second and first, and I just kind of got lost a little bit,” Pujols said. “It kind of handcuffed me, because it went through Mauer’s legs almost. I kind of lost that vision. But that’s an error you don’t want to make early in the game like that. It cost us two runs. But hey, it’s part of the game. You learn from the experience.”

Roy Halladay received that 2-0 lead before he even took the mound, and when he retired the first five NL batters, it appeared he was on his way to a superb night. But David Wright and Shane Victorino slapped two-out singles, and hometown hero Yadier Molina did something very familiar to the home fans when he delivered a clutch two-out hit. A throwing error by Hamilton allowed a second run to score, and Prince Fielder put the NL ahead with a pinch-hit RBI double.

“I think the hardest part is that you have a bunch of guys that you’ve never seen,” Halladay said. “You’re not quite sure what to do, but I had a lot of fun. For the most part I felt good. In games like this, you want to go out and you want to be aggressive. If you get hit, it’s because you’re throwing strikes and making guys swing the bat. I think that’s what it’s all about.”

The lead stood until the fifth, when Mauer lined a two-out double to left field against Chad Billingsley. That scored Jeter, who had beaten out a potential double-play ball one batter earlier.

“I had three at-bats against three pitchers, and they’re the best in the game,” Mauer said. “So I tried to stay short. He threw me a cutter outside, and I was able to put a good swing on it.”

Meanwhile, the AL pitchers were locking down as tight as security for President Barack Obama, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch. AL pitchers retired 18 consecutive batters from the second into the eighth inning, the second longest such streak in All-Star Game history. Mark Buehrle, Zack Greinke, Edwin Jackson, Felix Hernandez and Papelbon all pitched perfect innings before the NL threatened against Nathan in the eighth.

The Twins closer got the first two outs of the inning, but walked Adrian Gonzalez. Orlando Hudson singled off shortstop Jason Bartlett’s glove, bringing up the dangerous Ryan Howard. With full faith in his right-hander, though, AL manager Joe Maddon never had a thought of going to lefty — and AL saves leader — Brian Fuentes.

“These stallions in the bullpen, it’s not necessary to match up,” Maddon said. “It was their inning. There’s no concern about matching up with those three guys in the bullpen. It’s just their inning.”

And just as Maddon expected, Nathan escaped. He got Howard to swing at a slider for the strikeout, ending the last real threat for the home team.

“I fouled off a couple fastballs and couldn’t hold up on the slider,” said Howard, a St. Louis-area native who would have been a huge hero if he’d delivered.

“That’s the game of baseball, sometimes it happens like that. I came up a little bit short. I got caught off guard. He threw me a slider and I just couldn’t hold up.”

And with that out, the game was all but over, because Rivera loomed. The Hall of Fame-bound Yankees closer twirled an utterly uneventful 1-2-3 ninth to pick up the record-breaking save.

Some things just don’t change.

“Everyone keeps talking about the winning streak that we have, but there have been a lot of games that could have gone either way,” Jeter said. “It says a lot about our pitching. They have great players and a great team, but we’re just fortunate.”

Cal’s quote of the day: “The streak has become my identity, it is who I have become.”

This moment in history: Cal was starting the longest streak of games being played ever in baseball history in 82′.

Cal jr, his brother Billy, have always strived their hardest, but couldn’t have done it without Cal sr, their dad, who was around baseball for almost 4 decades as a manager, a scout, a player, and a coach, taught his sons’ how to play baseball ‘The Ripken Way.’

Cal Sr. was around so many greats in his career, many hall of famers, legends in fact. His advice to be the Ripken Way, is so down to earth. It is so useful in fact, you can use this advice in regular day life. It is my favorite book ever written, and it helps you become a student of the game. Just like Cal. This book was written for a purpose, to teach everyone out there about the great game of baseball, and to help baseball players develop into even better ones. Cal Sr, wanted everyone to be a student of the game, and wanted everyone to be a great player. He might get his wish….

The Ripken Way says,

BASEBALL IS A WALK OF LIFE: The lessons you learn playing baseball can be applied to everyday life.

MASTER THE FUNDAMENTALS: All good ballplayers start with the basics, and stick with them to keep their standard of performance high.

PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: If you form good habits on the sidelines, they’ll be automatic when gametime comes. Good play is habit-forming.

USE YOUR HEAD: In baseball, as in life, there is something new to be learned every day. Keep your head up.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF: The tried-and-true, old-fashioned American value is as important as ever.

Anywhere in life you can use these techniques, as Cal Sr and his wife Vi did on their kids. They had the five D’s, discipline, determination, dedication, desire. The Ripken Way helps improve your chances of winning, improves your attitude toward the game, and just teaches you so much about baseball, “the Ripken Way.” Cal jr. had success with it, alot of success breaking so many records, I would need another article to type on.

When I read this book, I learned so much new about the game that I didn’t already know, yet I already thought I new so much! The Baltimore Sun had a review on it…

Cal Ripken Sr., who died March 25 of lung cancer, has bequeathed to mothers and fathers, boys and girls, baseball players and all athletes a book of insight and advice about life and sports that is very readable, candid and loaded with horse sense. – Baltimore Sun

Coaching young players, developing their skills, and cultivating a love for the sport may be the most rewarding experience baseball can offer. Cal and Bill Ripken understand this like few others.

From their father, Cal Sr., a legend in the Baltimore Orioles organization for 37 years, they learned to play the game the right way. Those lessons, paired with their combined 33 years of big league experience, helped develop the Ripken Way, a method of teaching the game through simple instruction, solid explanations, encouragement, and a positive atmosphere. In Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way, Cal and Bill share this approach to coaching and development.

Whether you’re teaching your children at home, managing the local travel team, or working with high school-level players, Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way will help you make a difference both on and off the field, with these features:<ul

More than 50 drills covering defense, hitting, pitching, and baserunning

Age-specific practice plans for players ranging from 4 to 15+

Strategies for setting goals and reasonable expectations for your players and team

Advice on communicating with parents, players, and staff

Methods for creating a positive and fun environment in which kids can learn the skills and strategies of the game

Bill Ripken was once voted by his peers as one of the big league players most likely to become a manager. Cal Ripken, Jr., known as baseball’s Iron Man, is a member of the game’s All-Century Team and a future Hall of Famer. Together, they are proof positive that the Ripken Way is the right way to teach the game of baseball.

Biography

Cal Ripken, Jr., is baseball’s all-time Iron Man. He retired from baseball in October 2001 after 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. His name appears in the record books repeatedly, most notably as one of only eight players in history to record more than 400 home runs and 3,000 hits. In 1995, Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played (2,130) and voluntarily ended his streak in 1998 after playing in a world-record 2,632 consecutive games.

Among his other on-field accolades are American League Rookie of the Year (1982), two-time American League Most Valuable Player (1983, 1991), two-time Gold Glove recipient (1991, 1992), two-time All-Star Game MVP (1991, 2001), and 19 All-Star Game selections. He also was named to Major League Baseball’s All-Century Team in 1999.

Ripken has made a tremendous impact on the sport and on fans everywhere. In 1999, Babe Ruth League, Inc., changed the name of its largest division (5- to 12-year-olds) from Bambino to Cal Ripken Baseball. More than 700,000 youths play Cal Ripken Baseball worldwide. He is using the platform that baseball has provided him to construct a baseball complex in his hometown of Aberdeen, Maryland. The one-of-a-kind facility consists of Ripken Stadium, a state-of-the-art 6,000-seat minor league ballpark that is home to the hugely successful Class A Aberdeen IronBirds. Adjacent to the minor league ballpark is the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy, consisting of eight youth fields, including a youth-sized replica of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a synthetic training infield, a bullpen area, and batting cages.

Ripken resides in Maryland with his wife, Kelly, and their children, Rachel andRyan.

Bill Ripken, a 12-year Major League veteran, began his career with the Baltimore Orioles in 1987 under the direction of his father, Cal Ripken, Sr., and alongside brother Cal Ripken, Jr. This was the first and remains the only time in Major League Baseball history that a father simultaneously managed two of his sons.

After five and a half seasons with the Orioles, Ripken, who would later return to Baltimore for a year, played for Texas, Cleveland, and Detroit. In 1988, he was second among American League second basemen in double plays turned (100). At the plate, Ripken led the Baltimore Orioles in hitting with a .291 average and 28 doubles in 1990. Ripken, a second baseman by trade, had a fielding percentage of .9927 in 1992, the best of any Major League second baseman that season, and his career fielding percentage at second base (.987) ranks among baseball’s all-time leaders. Ripken was voted by his peers as one of the players most likely to manage a big league team.

Ripken is the co-owner and executive vice president of Ripken Baseball Inc., a baseball sales and marketing company founded in 1999 and based in Baltimore. Ripken is involved in all aspects of the business and regularly instructs at youth camps and coaching clinics. Through his work with these programs, he has become recognized as one of America’s premiere baseball instructors. Ripken also is involved in the continued development of the Ripken Academy in Aberdeen, Maryland, and the management of Ripken Baseball’s minor league teams in Aberdeen and Augusta, Georgia.

Ripken lives in Fallston, Maryland, with his wife, Candace, and his children, Miranda, Anna, Reese, and Jack.

Scott Lowe joined Ripken Baseball in 1999 after eight years working in college sports publicity. Lowe initially served as the general manager of the company’s camps and clinics division, developing Ripken Baseball’s youth camps, coaching clinics, and other instructional programs. Presently he writes and designs Ripken Baseball’s Coach’s Clipboard e-newsletter, which is distributed to amateur baseball coaches around the world on a monthly basis. He also oversees the creation and distribution of Ripken Baseball instructional products and is involved in the development and implementation of the company’s coaching education and other baseball instructional programs.

After graduating summa *** laude from the University of Maryland College of Journalism in 1991, Lowe spent two years as an athletic communications assistant at Princeton University. He was the assistant director of sports information and served as the athletics marketing coordinator at Drexel University in Philadelphia from 1993 to 1995 before returning to the Baltimore area to become the assistant director of athletic communications at Loyola College. Lowe served in that capacity before being promoted to the position of head sports information director in 1997. Lowe left Loyola in 1998 to form his own baseball camp business prior to joining Ripken Baseball in September 1999.

In addition to his full-time position at Ripken Baseball, he has served for three years as the head coach of varsity baseball at the Park School in Baltimore, compiling a 45-19 record and leading the Bruins to three consecutive MIAA B Conference playoff appearances, including a trip to the 2006 championship game, after the school had failed to reach the postseason the previous seven years.

Lowe resides in Owings Mills, Maryland, with his wife, Robin, and children, Devin and Sydney.

After I read this book, I became even more of an O’s fan then before. I thought I loved Cal Ripken Jr. and know I know I love him! What a great player. I hope I can play the Ripken Way! The chapters are…

Cal is a legend, an icon to many. He has brought a generation with him in his play. Cal was the first player on and off the field every time he went out to play. He just had the love of the game. Many players, even now just wanna step onto a field that Cal Ripken Jr. has played on. Cal has always been faithful to fans, umpires, and the game itself. He has always been an Oriole, and ever shall be. Its all about you Cal…

As a kid growing up in Aberdeen Maryland, Cal Ripken Jr. never thought he would grow up to be the best SS ever in the history of the game. He was wrong though. When Cal was in the minors, he was on the Rochester Red Wings (O’s triple A affiliate at the time) And played in the longest proffesional game in the history of baseball. He played through 33 innings which spanned through three long long days. In 81′ and 82′ Cal was a utility man and played some SS and 3B for the O’s.Ripken homered in his very first at bat against the Royals in the first game of the 82′ season. That was a start for him as he ended the season with 28 homers sealing the deal for the rookie of the year award. In 83′ Cal unbelievably topped that as well as winning MVP honors with his .318 AVG, 27 home runs, one less than his rookie year, and 102 RBI.

For eight seasons, Cal would hit 20 or more homers in a year. And in 87′ it was a Ripken reunion when Cal’s father Cal Ripken Sr. took over the head coaching job in Baltimore, and Cal’s brother Billy Ripken was on the team too. Cal Sr, became the first manager ever to write both of his sons’ into the lineup card. Cal Sr. also broke the biggest streak ever, by putting Ron Washington in the game in Cal’s place in the eighth inning of a game on September 22, ending Cal’s streak of consecutive innings played at 8,243. Cal would then go on and set his record for consecutive games played at 2,632 games straight. Cal got the nickname “the iron man” for showing up every day on the job ready to play.

Cal wasn’t famous for it, but he also joined the 3,000 hit club and finished his career with 3,184 hits. Cal had his #8 retired on the last home game of the 2001 season, and was on the on deck circle in the bottom of the ninth waiting for his chance to bat, when with 2 outs and a full count, Brady Anderson, Ripken’s long time teammate who was also playing in his last game struck out on a high, inside fastball. Cal had a long speech after the game thanking all of his fans and all of his friends that supported him over the years.

Other big moments for Cal were, in 2001 Cal was voted to be the starting 3B of the All Star Game in Seattle and Alex Rodriguez was supposed to be starting SS, but A-rod respectively gave up the role and switched with Ripken because he knew this was the last year Cal was playing and wanted it to be memorable to him. Ripken made his first plate appearance in the third inning and was happily noticed with a standing “o”. Ripken took Chan Ho Parks’ first pitch yard for a home run, and the fans went wild for Cal! It was a sight to be seen for Ripken as he happily slapped hands with the guys and was carried around in the dugout.

Cal had a famous quote, it was “As long as I can compete, I won’t quit.”

Cal did just that as when he went for the record 2,131st game in a row, he hit a home run which was voted as the “most memorable moment in baseball history.” Cal was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, the most prestigous honor you could get in 2007. He was a first ballot inductee with the third highest voting percentage of all time at (98.53%). He was definitly loved by the fans, and that shows by him getting the highest amount of all star votes in the history of balloting (36,123,483). He also has the most consecutive all star starts with 17 in a row. Cal was an icon to everyone and was the best SS ever. He is the heart of Baltimore and Cal is Birdland, now and for eternity. This is all about you, Cal. You are a legend….